How Sears, Roebuck & Co. midwifed the birth of the blues

By Chris Kjorness

In the popular telling, Delta blues musicians were tragic figures, singing out for personal solace. Though romantic, this story ignores the spirit of the bluesman himself, and the commercial and technological advances of the early 1900s.

Rock and Roll Fantasy

This typeface is not absurdly tough, yet its pointiness and near-illegibility lends a special aura of mystery that suggests magic, action and adventure. Find those things on Friday, Aug. 10, at the Launchpad (618 Central SW). Tenderizor, Glitter Dick, Contortionist and Drought conjure rainbows in the dark (and the like) beginning at 9:30 p.m. Admission is 21-and-over and $5. (JCC)